Born in London, England, he attended the St. John’s Wood Art School, and the Royal Academy School in London. He became a painter of portraits and figures in a very true realistic style. His canvas “A Portrait of a Lady” was reproduced in William Colgate’s book “Canadian Art: Its Origin and Development.” Barnes is represented in public galleries of England at Manchester, Huddersfield, Hule, Oldham, and collections in Canada at the cities of Toronto, Vancouver, and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. A senior member of the Royal Canadian Academy he lived in Toronto, Ontario.
Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977